Fukuoka, Japan Meeting Planning Overview

Welcome to Cvent’s MICE Guide to Fukuoka, a city guide for MICE professionals. Known as the gateway between Japan and other Asian continents, Fukuoka serves as the largest city on Kyushu, an island in southwest Japan, as well as a key center for Asian trade, with a 2,000-year history of exchange with other Asian countries. As such, Fukuoka has the lowest commodity pricing for food, clothing, and housing among 51 other cities in Japan, all while maintaining a high quality of life with the ideal balance of urban amenities and lush greenery. With a fantastic blend of traditional culture and modern amenities, Fukuoka enjoys a six-year record as the second-most popular city in Japan for holding international conventions (after Tokyo), thanks to its size, array of entertainment and culture options, broad range of accommodations, and excellent transportation and access. The city is equipped to handle anything from small-scale conferences to major conventions of more than 10,000 attendees. For these reasons, the number of international conventions held in Fukuoka increases each year.

Meeting participants appreciate Fukuoka’s low traffic congestion and compact, stress-free city center, with all major facilities set within a 2.5-kilometer radius area. There is easy airport-to-city center access, as travelers flying into Fukuoka Airport only need to take a ten-minute subway ride to get to downtown. The airport is known for its high number of flights from major domestic airports. European travelers can take a direct flight to Fukuoka from Helsinki, while travelers coming from North America need to make just one connection in Incheon, Shanghai or Beijing. Once in Fukuoka, visitors can ride the reliable, convenient Fukuoka City Subway or Nishitetsu buses and trains, which take passengers throughout the city and to major area attractions. Operating several stations in Fukuoka, the JR Kyushu intercity rail service takes passengers throughout the island of Kyushu.

Easily accessible via public transportation, the Fukuoka International Congress Center is a state-of-the-art facility in a scenic waterside location, which offers versatile space for a wide range of events and conventions. Spanning five floors, the modern, sleek center features sliding walls that adjust to the scale of each event, as well as simultaneous interpreter booths and audio-visual equipment. Meeting spaces range from a 1,320-square-meter multi-purpose hall to a series of conference rooms, ranging from 40 to 420 square meters. The center also puts meeting participants near the city’s Nakasu nightlife district, perfect for post-convention entertainment.

In addition to the Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka is home to a number of unique venues perfect for group gatherings. As for social gatherings, groups can hold events at the charming, covered Kawabata Shopping Arcade, the city’s oldest shopping arcade and beloved locale of long-standing shops, giving a taste of local life. Using the long shopping street as a venue, you can hold parties and other events onsite. Along with food and drinks provided by stores on the shopping arcade and events to experience the Japanese traditional performing arts, you can bring additional excitement to parties with stores along the street. Groups can also hold an open-air social gathering using the entire bayside area, at the Bayside Place Hakata, a tourist attraction with shops and restaurants. With high-quality food of which Fukuoka boasts, various forms of entertainment such as a tuna disassembling performance, band performances and Hakata’s traditional performing arts bring a lot of excitement to the party. Groups who would like to explore the bay by water can charter a dining room, floor, or an entire boat, courtesy of the elegant Mariera Dinner Cruise. Enjoy French cuisine while cruising Hakata Bay, on which a buffet-style cuisine can be prepared for a simple and convenient party. If you charter the ship, live musical performances and other services can also be arranged.

Local performers such as Hakata-Koma (top spinning performance), Kinjishi-daiko (lion dance with Japanese drum performance), Hakata-Minyo (Local traditional dance) can be provided at the reception or awarding ceremony for large conventions or incentive tours groups.

About Fukuoka, Japan / Additional Info

Bursting with charm, Fukuoka is a wonderful mix of modern life and traditional culture. Fukuoka is proud of its strong history of international exchange and preserves its past in its local heritage sites. Serving as a gateway for foreign exchange for more than 2,000 years, Fukuoka’s port faces China and the Korean Peninsula across the Genkai Sea, making it an ideal location for trade. In the twelfth century, Fukuoka introduced Chinese culture, including Zen, to the rest of the Japan. After recovering from many civil wars, Fukuoka was heavily damaged by fires from an air raid in 1945, and then reconstructed under a new style of urban planning.

Today, Fukuoka boasts a combination of antiquity and modernity, Fukuoka’s culture can also be experienced in its vibrant shops and “yatai” street stalls, as well as its fresh food markets, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines. Fukuoka’s young population, thanks to the fifty universities and junior colleges in the prefecture, add to the city’s vibrant way of life. A great way for visitors to explore the area is the double-decker Fukuoka Open Top Bus, which shuttles passengers on three daily routes highlighting the city’s attractions and incredible vistas. When it’s time to explore more of Kyushu, visitors can easily explore the island’s hot springs, lush scenery, and active volcanoes.

For a taste of Fukuoka life and culture, visitors can enjoy the city’s respected restaurants, many of which serve such area specialties as ramen, udon, motsu nabe (a hot pot with beef offal and vegetables), mizutaki (regional chicken hot pot), grilled chicken skewers, seafood, and sweets.

Serving traditional Japanese fare, Chikae is known for its excellent seafood that customers can choose from live tanks, while Zauo encourages its visitors to purchase bait from the restaurant and start fishing in the restaurant’s stocked tank to catch their meal. Sakurazaka Kanzanso serves regional delicacies in an authentic Japanese style room with panoramic views of the city, while Hakata Izumi specializes in puffer fish, which must be prepared by highly trained chefs, as the fish can be poisonous when not consumed properly. Groups can dine on traditional Japanese fare at Hakata Hyakunengura, a hall with thick beams and high ceilings nestled within a sake brewery registered as one of Japan’s tangible cultural properties.

Fukuoka, Japan Climate Information

Fukuoka experiences hot, humid summers and mild winters, as well as pleasant spring and fall temperatures. March to May and October to December are regarded as the best times to visit Fukuoka, as are the spring months, which bring with them cherry blossoms. With an average high of 89⁰F and average low of 76⁰F, August serves as the area’s warmest month, while February is the coldest, with an average high of 49⁰F and average low of 38⁰F. Fukuoka experiences an average 64 inches of rain each year, with its rainy season spanning June to July. Typhoon season runs from August through September, but the city has rarely been affected.

Fukuoka, Japan Airport Information

Fukuoka Airport (FUK)

Approximate taxi fare: 2000 Japanese Yen

Set within a ten-minute subway ride from central Fukuoka, Fukuoka Airport has an established reputation for its high number of flights from major domestic airports, as well as its easy access to the nearby city center. Passengers flying into the airport board the subway from the airport to JR Hakata Station (a five-minute ride), and then ride to the downtown Tenjin Station (an additional five-minute ride). The airport offers direct flights to Helsinki for easy European travel, and is convenient for North American travel, as passengers have to make just one connection in Incheon, Shanghai, or Beijing before traveling onto Fukuoka. In addition to the International flights, Fukuoka is connected with Tokyo and Osaka with frequent domestic flights. Airport amenities include observation decks, lounges, free Wi-Fi, and currency exchange, as well as shops and restaurants throughout the airport’s domestic and international travel buildings.

Airlines serving Fukuoka Airport:

Air Busan

Air China

All Nippon Airways

Amakusa Airlines

Asiana Airlines

China Airlines

Cathay Pacific Airways

China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines

Delta Air Lines

EVA Air

Fuji Dream Airlines

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines

Hong Kong Express

IBEX Airlines

Japan Air Commuter

Japan Airlines

Japan Transocean Air

Jeju Air

Jetstar Asia Airways

Jin Air

Korean Air

Oriental Air Bridge

Peach Aviation

Philippine Airlines

Singapore Airlines

Skymark Airlines

Star Flyer

Thai Airways International

T’way Airlines

United Airlines

Vietnam Airlines

Finnair

Fukuoka, Japan Ground Transportation

Fukuoka City Subway

Fast, reliable, and convenient, the Fukuoka City Subway operates along the Kuko, Hakozaki, and Nanakuma Lines, shuttling passengers to and around major Fukuoka attractions. Trains operate daily from 5:30 AM to 12:25 AM, with trains arriving every four to eight minutes. Fare is determined by zone. A one-day unlimited travel pass is available for purchase.

JR Kyushu Train

Operating several stations in Fukuoka, the JR Kyushu intercity rail service takes passengers throughout the island of Kyushu. Reserved and non-reserved seating options are available, and passengers can purchase a rail pass for unlimited three- to five-day travel.

Nishitetsu Bus and Train

Nishitetsu buses and trains take passengers throughout Fukuoka and to major area attractions. Passengers can purchase a one-day train and bus pass, which is a convenient option for Fukuoka sightseeing, or purchase regular bus or train tickets. Buses operate between the Fukuoka International Airport and Hakata Station and Tenjin every thirty minutes.